Springfield Cardinals Vice President and General Manager Matt Gifford starts day five of an eight-game home stand with an elevator ride to the top of the city’s Tower Club for a 7:30 a.m. meeting with businesspeople who call themselves “the barons.” This Friday morning begins with breakfast among an informal group of tycoons and civic leaders who invited Gifford to join after he arrived in Springfield in 2005.
Active in the community, Gifford is the board chairman of the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau and serves the board of United Way of the Ozarks.
“The lines are often blurred between what’s for work and what is being done by me out of a sense of duty,” notes Gifford, who’s honorary chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Walk to Cure Diabetes.
At the June 24 Baron’s meeting, Gifford is on a mission to let members know about Giff’s Gallery, a fundraising Web site he set up to collect donations for the 2011 Price Cutter Charity Championship, which he’s agreed to play in despite dislocating his shoulder in the spring. Down the hall from the clubhouse, Gifford receives regular treatments after games, as he did following the June 23 contest, which kept him up past 1 a.m. After the meeting, Gifford heads to the front office of the Double-A St. Louis Cardinals’ affiliate at Hammons Field to answer e-mails and voice messages before a 10 a.m. meeting at the CVB. He then welcomes friends visiting from out of town at the office before hitting golf balls at Highland Springs at 12:45 p.m.
“The real work begins at 3 p.m.,” Gifford says of preparations for the evening’s 7:05 game.
He aims to strike a balance between being accessible to his office staff and working the grounds to answer questions or sign off on new food or drink specials – such as the grand slam sundae or 16 oz. margaritas for Fourth of July. “I’ve got a normal walk and a game-day walk. The game-day walk is a walk with a purpose and comes with long strides,” he says.
Inside his office, Cardinals memorabilia is everywhere, collected during a 16-year career with the company. One item on display is an autographed Stan Musial picture from Springfield’s first exhibition game against St. Louis in 2005. Gifford wears his 2006 World Series ring regularly to share it with the fans.
“That’s not something they come in contact with every day, and it means a lot to them to see it and hold it and be a part of it,” Gifford says.
As he prepares for the game, Gifford takes calls on his Blackberry from a variety of people including Texas League President Tom Kayser to talk about the sudden resignation of Bill Mosiello, general manager of the Arkansas Travelers.
“Every day is different. You never know what’s going to pop up,” Gifford says.
The economy has had its impact on the team, as attendance is down 9.6 percent more than halfway through the season, and Gifford acknowledges that increasing fan involvement and revenues are always top of mind.
At 4:12 p.m., Gifford approves an ad on his blackberry as he makes the rounds, visiting with his visual effects team about the night’s between-inning features, which he says are always a big hit with the fans. Around 4:30, he stops by to talk with the Tulsa Drillers’ radio announcer about a recent Friday home game the Cardinals won in extra innings against the Drillers. The announcer, Dennis Higgins, compares the timing of the fireworks on that night to “The Natural.” Gifford says he told his crew to start the fireworks as soon as he saw the winning hit, trying to beat the 11:00 p.m. city curfew for the display. He gets back at the office at 5, and looks at some more e-mails before learning at 5:21 that catcher Steven Hill may soon be heading to Triple A Memphis. Gifford then gets a refill on his Coke before talking with coaches in both clubhouses and visiting briefly with the umpires. Around 6:30, he chats on the field with Fred Terry, co-owner of Lawrence Photo, about the player meet-and-greet the company sponsored before the game.
A 30 percent chance of showers puts his teeth on edge earlier in the day, but the forecast improved as game time approached, allowing him a rare chance to sneak away.
At 6:47, he hops in his new Chevy Traverse to catch about 30 minutes of his daughter’s tee-ball game across town. He says seeing her play is a special treat often not possible during a long home stand when his workdays can run 7 a.m.–midnight. “I encourage our employees, if they have kids that have games, that they need to try to be there when they can, if they can work it out,” Gifford says.
After returning to the park, Gifford visits the press box for a quick hot dog dinner. Gifford, 6'5", says he likes to put three dogs or brats on a plate with condiments in the middle so he can spin the plate as he progresses through the meal. He says he never tires of ballpark dogs, once eating them every day for a year and a half on a bet.
After eating, Gifford learns the game was a sellout – the organization’s first of the year. He says people love to turn out for the Friday night fireworks and the fair weather always helps.
Gifford spends the rest of the night walking the grounds, meeting with fans and sponsors, something he always enjoys.
“I haven’t had to work a day in my life because I love coming to work,” he says.
Following the game, Gifford receives another treatment on his shoulder. Then he races home for bed after midnight. Day six of the home stand is just hours away.
First of four businesspeople to be featured in Springfield Business Journal's Day in the Life special series[[In-content Ad]]
